World’s FairsFound, not built?
FairsAtlanta 1895
Cotton States and International Exposition
Cotton States and International Exposition: Atlanta, Ga. - Cotton States Exposition)- Looking N.E. from Phoenix Wheel LCCN2003653903
Cotton States and International Exposition: Atlanta, Ga. - Cotton States Exposition)- N.Y. State Bldg LCCN2003653902
Cotton States and International Exposition: Interior of Fine Arts Building, Cotton States Exposition, Atlanta LCCN95511616
Cotton States and International Exposition: 1895-02 Woman’s Building, front

Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain · via Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons

1895 · Atlanta, United States

Cotton States and International Exposition

On the globe
See full fair gallery (9)
Dates
18 Sep – 31 Dec 1895
Site
Piedmont Park
Declared purpose
A fair to show the South's recovery and draw trade with Latin America.
Fate
The buildings were demolished. The grounds became Piedmont Park.

Hidden history

Found, Not Built

Atlanta was rebuilding after 1864, yet within 30 years it put up a fair of domed palaces. The bird's-eye views show a full classical city on what's now a lawn.

  1. A city of palaces in a recovering town

    Researchers set the scale of the fair against the record of a city still rebuilding, and ask who had the workforce and materials.

  2. Wiped clean

    Almost nothing is left above ground. The question: what lay under the park before it was landscaped?

Questions worth asking

  • Where are the quarry and mill records for the fair's buildings?
  • Why were none of them kept for the growing city?

Possible original uses

  • Public halls and galleries
  • A regional trade center

What the photos show

The buildings

Tap a building for its photos and credits.

Further viewing

Episodes from My Lunch Break (Michael Kruse), the main lens for this app. They open on YouTube.